Wheat Starch Paste, Refined Powder

Description

Refined wheat starch for cooking paste. This is the conservation adhesive: fully reversible with water alone, neutral pH, and with a working time long enough to position a repair and move it again before it grabs. Everything else in the room is a compromise against one of those three. The starch is refined to remove protein and lipid residues, which are what make an unrefined paste go off in three days and smell like it. Cook one part starch to four or five parts distilled water over gentle heat with constant stirring until it thickens and clears, then strain it through muslin — the straining is not optional, and unstrained paste leaves lumps that telegraph through tissue. Cooked paste keeps three to five days refrigerated. Contains wheat.